Cruise Radio: Weekly Cruise News & Travel Tips

A review of Carnival Venezia in 2026.

Staff writer Richard Simms joins us with cruise news, including Carnival Corporation's record earnings and strong 2027 bookings, changes to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises' cancellation policies, Princess Cruises raising prices on its Plus and Premier packages, and the latest on a federal operation involving cruise ship crew members.

Kristy reviews an eight-night Carnival Venezia cruise from Manhattan to Celebration Key, Half Moon Cay, and Grand Turk. We cover her Terrazza interior cabin, dining, entertainment, crowds, casino, and what makes Venezia different from other Carnival ships.

Christy also shares her experiences at Celebration Key, the newly updated Half Moon Cay, and Governor's Beach in Grand Turk, plus her tips and final thoughts after her fourth cruise aboard Carnival Venezia.

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About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

This week on Cruise Radio, Hank reviews a seven-night Holland America Zuiderdam cruise from Boston to Quebec City. We cover his aft-facing veranda cabin, dining, specialty restaurants, entertainment, sea days, and what it's like sailing on the 24-year-old Holland America ship.

Hank shares his experiences in Portland, Halifax, Sydney, and Charlottetown, including the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, a falconry excursion on Prince Edward Island, and local food along the way. We also discuss sailing the St. Lawrence River, disembarking in Quebec City, and spending extra time exploring the historic city.

Plus, Hank shares his thoughts on Holland America's Have It All package, the overall value of the cruise, and whether he would sail Zuiderdam again.

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About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A review of Disney Destiny in 2026.

Margie reviews a four-night Disney Destiny cruise from Port Everglades with her family. We cover her veranda stateroom, Disney's rotational dining, entertainment, pools and water attractions, adults-only spaces, and the ship's Heroes and Villains theme.

Margie shares what it's like cruising aboard Disney Destiny with children and grandchildren, including the Frozen and Hercules production shows, Marvel experiences, Pirate Night, and Halloween on the High Seas. The cruise also visits both Disney destinations in the Bahamas, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point and Castaway Cay.

Plus, Stewart Chiron, the Cruise Guy, has cruise news on Royal Caribbean buying a stake in Sandals Resorts, an update on the Carnival Panorama overboard incident, a slot machine fire aboard Carnival Jubilee, upgrades at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, and a potential aquarium coming to the Port Canaveral area. PortMiami surpassing 10 million passenger movements, and Margaritaville at Sea naming Zac Brown as a ship godfather.

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About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A review of Norwegian Spirit.

Ben reviews a 16-night Norwegian Spirit cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu, combining Alaska, five sea days, and Hawaii. We cover the renovated ship, his balcony cabin, dining, entertainment, casino, thermal spa, and what it's like spending more than two weeks aboard Norwegian Spirit.

Ben also shares his experiences in Ketchikan, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Haines, Maui, and Kauai, including seeing bears in Alaska and exploring Hawaii.

Plus, the cruise takes an unexpected turn when a tropical storm threatens Hawaii, forcing Norwegian Spirit to change plans, return to Honolulu early, head back out to sea, and ultimately extend the cruise by an extra night.

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About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A review of Carnival Pride.

Chris reviews a seven-night Carnival Pride cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda. He shares what it's like to sail on the nearly 25-year-old ship, including his interior cabin, dining, entertainment, crowds, the casino, and the overall condition of Carnival Pride.

In Bermuda, Chris visits Snorkel Park Beach and Horseshoe Bay and shares tips for exploring the island with a family, including using local minibusses instead of cruise line excursions.

Plus, Richard Simms covers the week's cruise news, including Carnival Freedom getting its whale tail back, a fire at the Whittier cruise terminal in Alaska, updates on Celebrity Compass and MSC World Asia, Royal Caribbean canceling mistakenly priced casita reservations, cruise line loyalty program overcrowding, and a lawsuit involving Virgin Voyages.

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About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A 2026 review of Celebrity Xcel.

This week on Cruise Radio, Joe reviews a seven-night Celebrity Xcel Mediterranean cruise from Athens to Barcelona. We cover his Sky Suite in The Retreat, Luminae dining, entertainment, the new Bazaar, crowds, sea days, and Celebrity Xcel's secret speakeasy.

Joe also shares his experiences in Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, and Valletta, including a visit to Ephesus, exploring the ancient ruins of Delos, and what first-time Mediterranean cruisers should know about summer heat and crowds.

Plus, Joe shares whether Celebrity's Retreat was worth the upgrade and his final thoughts on sailing Celebrity Xcel and the Edge-class experience.

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Cruise line protection is designed to help if you can't take your cruise. Third-party travel insurance helps protect you during the trip. Including medical care, delays, and unexpected issues.

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About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A review of Carnival Luminosa.

Terrell reviews a 10-night Carnival Luminosa cruise from San Francisco to Alaska. We cover his Cloud 9 Spa stateroom, dining, entertainment, sea days, and what it's like sailing Carnival Luminosa to Alaska. Terrell also shares his experiences in Juneau, Skagway, Endicott Arm, and Ketchikan, including whale watching, getting close to the glacier, and a Deadliest Catch excursion.

Plus, cruise news on a bomb threat investigation, a cruise booking dispute that went viral, a power outage aboard Adventure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's Hero of the Seas, Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber heading to Galveston, and a correction on Carnival's new loyalty program.

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Cruise line protection is designed to help if you can't take your cruise. Third-party travel insurance helps protect you during the trip. Including medical care, delays, and unexpected issues.

Compare plans and save up to 30% at TripInsurance.com.

About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A seven-night MSC Meraviglia cruise from Brooklyn, New York, with a focus on the MSC Yacht Club experience. We cover priority embarkation, his upgraded Yacht Club balcony stateroom, butler service, the private Top Sail Lounge and pool deck, dining, drinks, thermal spa access, and whether the premium experience is worth the price. Jason also compares MSC Yacht Club with Norwegian's Haven and Royal Caribbean's suite experience.

The cruise included stops at Port Canaveral, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, and Nassau, including a visit to the private Yacht Club area at Ocean Cay.

Plus, cruise news on Carnival's new loyalty program, Caribbean cruise deals, the canceled Serenade of the Seas Alaska sailing, Norwegian Prima Legionnaires' disease cases, and Royal Caribbean's new bidding program for onboard experiences.

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Cruise line protection is designed to help if you can't take your cruise. Third-party travel insurance helps protect you during the trip. Including medical care, delays, and unexpected issues.

Compare plans and save up to 30% at TripInsurance.com.

About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A seven-night Norwegian Jewel cruise review from Philadelphia to Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jacob shares what it was like sailing from Philadelphia's developing cruise terminal, including the unusual hotel check-in and shuttle process, as well as his first impressions of the 21-year-old Norwegian Jewel.

We cover his interior cabin, a frustrating plumbing issue, the main dining room and buffet food, and specialty dining at Cagney's, Le Bistro, Moderno, and La Cucina. Jacob also discusses Norwegian's Freestyle Dining concept, entertainment, crowds, and whether the older ship still delivers good value.

In Bermuda, he visits Horseshoe Bay, takes a sunset rum cruise, and goes clear kayaking before Norwegian Jewel heads north for a short stop in Halifax.

Plus, we cover the week's cruise news, including changes to Norwegian Cruise Line's Free at Sea specialty dining benefit, Carnival's White Hot Night, Margaritaville at Sea's plans for Galveston, and Disney Cruise Line's return to New York.

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Cruise line protection is designed to help if you can't take your cruise. Third-party travel insurance helps protect you during the trip. Including medical care, delays, and unexpected issues.

Compare plans and save up to 30% at TripInsurance.com.

About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.

A review of the Margaritaville at Sea Islander.

This week we get a full review of Margaritaville at Sea Islander following a four-night cruise from Tampa to Cozumel.

Sue joins us after her 42nd cruise to share why Islander exceeded her expectations and how the former Costa ship has been transformed into Margaritaville at Sea's newest Tampa-based cruise ship.

Staff writer Richard Simms has cruise news on: Carnival Valor making a hard turn on the Mississippi River to avoid a cargo vessel, two passengers arrested following an alleged altercation aboard a cruise ship in Port Canaveral, a lawsuit involving a Norwegian Cruise Line passenger who says he was bitten by a pig during an excursion, Carnival's new shoe recycling program, and the latest CDC cruise ship sanitation inspection scores.

Share your thoughts: [email protected]

Sponsor

Cruise line protection is designed to help if you can't take your cruise. Third-party travel insurance helps protect you during the trip. Including medical care, delays, and unexpected issues.

Compare plans and save up to 30% at TripInsurance.com.

About Cruise Radio: Cruise Radio has been delivering cruise news, ship reviews, and money-saving tips weekly since 2009.